Tom Holland taking a break from acting after role ‘broke’ him

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Tom Holland has said that he is taking a break from acting after a particularly strenuous role in the new Apple TV+ series, The Crowded Room.

The 27-year-old actor, best known for playing Peter Parker in the popular Spider-Man film franchise, stars in The Crowded Room as Danny Sullivan, a man arrested for his involvement in a shooting in 1979.

He also serves as an executive producer on the 10-part series, which premieres on Apple TV+ this week.

Speaking to ExtraTV about the gritty, psychologically dark project, Holland said that the series prompted him to take a year-long sabbatical from acting.

“I loved the learning curve of becoming a producer,” Holland said. “I’m no stranger to hard work, I’ve always lived by this idea that hard work is good work. I really enjoyed it but then again, the show did break me.

“There did come a time when I was sort of, ‘I need to have a break’. I disappeared. I went to Mexico for a week and had some time on a beach and lay low. And I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was,” he continued.

The Crowded Room also stars Emmy Rossum as the mother of Holland’s character. You can read The Independent’s two-star review of the series here.

At 36 years old, Rossum is only nine years older than Holland, a discrepancy that didn’t escape the notice of fans. However, the actor stepped in to explain why the casting “made sense”.

Speaking about his plans for his break from acting, Holland said: “I’ve done a little bit of traveling. I had an amazing time. I’ve been seeing my family, seeing my friends. I’ve been playing golf. I’ve been going to the garden centre and buying plants and doing my best to keep them alive. I’ve just been trying to be a regular bloke from Kingston and just relax.”

Holland also recently gave Marvel fans a promising update on a prospective return to the Spider-Man franchise.